DPI Reports
Below are reports released by the Death Penalty Information Center since its inception, covering subjects such as race, innocence, politicization, costs of the death penalty, and more. When opening a report, please allow the report page to load fully before selecting links to sections or footnotes. Most of these reports are also available in printed form from DPIC. For a copy of one of these reports, e‑mail DPI. For bulk orders, please download our Resource Order Form.
Reports are separated into Year End Reports, In-Depth Reports, and Special Reports. In-Depth Reports are DPI’s signature long, thorough reports on major death-penalty issues. These include “The 2% Death Penalty,” examining geographic arbitrariness in capital punishment, and “Behind the Curtain,” covering secrecy in the death penalty system. Special Reports are shorter, and typically address a specific event or question. These include DPI’s explanation of the 2017 spate of executions that were scheduled in Arkansas, and our analysis of the largest number of executions performed on a single day.
Reports: 56 — 60
Dec 18, 2003
The Death Penalty in 2003: Year End Report
The death penalty continued its recent attrition in 2003, with executions, death sentences, and the death row population all lower than a few years ago. Public support for the death penalty dropped to its lowest level in 25 years. At the same time, exonerations from death row helped spur legislative reforms in the capital punishment system. The use of the death penalty declined by a variety of measures: EXECUTIONS: The number of executions dropped by 8% from 71 last year to 65 this year.
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Dec 17, 2002
The Death Penalty in 2002: Year End Report
In 2002, the death penalty continued to come under increasing scrutiny and its use became more geographically isolated within the United States. Executions occurred almost exclusively in the South, and one state, Texas, accounted for three times as many as the total in the West, Midwest, and Northeast states combined. Most states did not carry out any executions in 2002. Only 13 states used the ultimate sanction this year. The last time fewer states carried out executions was 1993. As in…
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Dec 12, 2001
The Death Penalty in 2001: Year End Report
Throughout 2001, growing concerns about capital punishment were reflected in a series of legislative changes to restrict the death penalty, and executions declined sharply for the second straight year. For the first time since the death penalty was reinstated, the number of people on death row also appears to be decreasing. The critical question remaining is whether a system so marred by mistakes and unfairness can be made acceptable to the public or should it be abandoned altogether. A…
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Dec 19, 2000
The Death Penalty in 2000: Year End Report
The year 2000 was perhaps the most significant single year affecting death penalty opinion in United States history. A broad change in the way the American public views capital punishment was precipitated by a steady sequence of eye-opening events, including releases from death row, reports on the unfairness of the process, and governmental action to limit or halt the death penalty. Former supporters of the death penalty joined long-time critics in raising concerns about the accuracy and…
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Dec 01, 1999
The Death Penalty in 1999: Year End Report
The number of executions in the U.S. in 1999 was the highest for any year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. There were 98 executions, one-third of them in Texas. This 44% increase in executions from last year is partly the result of a large number of older cases facing an expedited federal and state appeals process. At the same time, the number of innocent people freed from death row also grew in 1999, with 8 more people released. The number of inmates exonerated since 1973 has…
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